An ability to print within a computing environment generally ranges from desirable to indispensable. Conventional printers, and associated printing techniques, typically involve installation of a print driver within the context of an operating system or platform of an associated computer. The print driver is generally specific to the associated (type of) printer, and to the operating system, and enables applications running in the context of the operating system to communicate with (e.g., send print jobs to) the printer.
Thus, in an example user experience, an owner of a computer running a particular operating system purchases a printer, and then installs a version of the printer driver associated with the user's operating system onto the computer. In other example scenarios, a printer (i.e., associated printer driver) may be installed in the context of a network. In the latter scenario(s), it is possible to share the installed printer among multiple network users. For example, a local computer executing an application, operating system, and printer driver, may print from the application to a remote printer, using an intermediary print server. Somewhat similarly, an application may execute on a remote device, and the operating system and printer driver may be installed on the remote device, as well. Then, a user may experience or use the remotely-executing application at a local computer (e.g., in a remote desktop or other virtual computing environment), and may print to a local or remote printer which receives commands from the remotely-installed printer driver.
The above-referenced paradigm for printing generally uses, for each (type of) printer, a print driver for each operating system/platform from which printing may occur. Consequently, it may be difficult for printer manufacturers to generate and maintain such print drivers for all available operating systems/platforms, and, even to the extent to which printer manufacturers are successful in doing so, it may be difficult for individual and/or network users to be aware of, identify, obtain, or otherwise implement an appropriate driver(s) (or associated updates).
Further, it may occur that a particular operating system/platform does not support a particular print driver, or any print driver at all. For example, operating systems designed to run in resource-limited environments, such as mobile devices (e.g., netbooks or smartphones), may have limited or no resources to execute a print driver. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for applications running on such devices, or running remotely for use on such devices, to print in a satisfactory manner.
Similarly, network applications (e.g., “web applications”) exist in which an application executes on a remote server while being used by a user on a local machine, e.g., using a browser or other client-side user interface. Such applications allow users to benefit from the use thereof, without requiring local installation (and associated depletion of local hardware resources). Printing documents associated with such applications is typically problematic, and often requires an initial conversion of such documents into a standardized format (e.g., the portable document format, or “.pdf”) before printing can proceed in a reliable or predictable fashion.
In short, conventional printers and printing paradigms often provide a fragmented, expensive, resource-intensive, potentially unpredictable user experience which is sub-optimal at best and unworkable at worst for many users.